Controlling Hot Flashes through your Diet

Women can help combat hot flashes by eating more calcium-rich foods, magnesium-rich foods and foods rich in vitamin E — like cold-pressed oils, green leafy vegetables, nuts and almonds, as well as plenty of mineral- and fiber-rich foods, like whole grains and fresh vegetables. Janet Zand, Allan N. Spreen and
James B. LaValle — authors of “Smart Medicine for Healthier Living” — suggest women who suffer from hot flashes add sea vegetables to their diets. “The minerals in these foods replenish necessary electrolytes lost through perspiration,” they write.

During menopause, it is also important for women to get plenty of water. “One of the best things you can do during this time is to be sure to drink plenty of quality water — at least 2 quarts daily,” writes Phyllis
A. Balch, author of “Prescription for Dietary Wellness.” “Drinking water replaces fluids lost to perspiration during hot flashes and can even prevent or minimize the hot flashes themselves.”

Foods to avoid to prevent hot flashes

Perhaps as important as which foods women should eat to prevent hot flashes are those foods they should avoid. Many foods are thought to contribute to or worsen discomfort from hot flashes. Alcohol, caffeine,
excess sugar, dairy products, meat products and spicy foods rank among the top aggravators of severe hot flashes as well as mood swings.

In Prevention Magazine’s “New Choices in Natural Healing,” Eve Campanelli, a holistic family practitioner in Beverly Hills, Calif., says, “Hot flashes often flare up when women drink wine or coffee, which acidifies the blood and strains the liver. One way to avoid this acidification is to cut down on these beverages and to drink more fresh vegetable juices, which counteract the effect by alkalinizing the system.”

Certain lifestyle changes can also help ease hot flashes. For example, regular exercise can help alleviate some women’s discomfort. Also, it pays to quit smoking. According to “Natural Cures and Gentle
Medicines” by the editors of FC&A Medical Publishing, “A recent study at the Baltimore Veterans Affairs Medical Center found that women who smoke have significantly more hot flashes than nonsmokers.”

The good news here is that if you are a woman going through menopause, hot flashes are within your control. It may take some diet and lifestyle changes on your part, but you don’t have to suffer through
hot flashes and accept them as a “normal” part of that time in your life. You can fight back with food, and, best of all, the foods you eat to help curb hot flashes will benefit your overall health as well.